A target rich environment

I recently had the opportunity to fly a new drone around and do some shake down photos with it. I chose this farmstead to check out. I wandered around it two days in a row a while back, and it was a fantastic place to explore.

I love old barns and old houses, and this site didn’t disappoint. It’s tough to get good photos this time of year because of the long shadows, but it worked out fine.

Then, of course, we have the windmill. I’m a sucker for those. The presence of at least the remains of a windmill was a bonus for this flight.

Here’s an example of those long shadows. Dang. But wow, what a sky in the background, eh? I love the contrast clouds bring into the sky.

Here’s a really cool old barn-slash-garage. I am not a fan of shooting into the sun, but sometimes you do what you’ve got to do. I’m just glad we had some nice weather!

Here’s some better light. Not the side of the garage I wanted to get, but definitely the light and the sky. The blue sky and the golden grass complement each other very well.

Once again, shooting into the sun like they tell you never to do. But heck, I had to get a view into the garage. Thanks to some aggressive processing, I got the data I needed.

The cloudless sky, while normally something I try to avoid, actually worked out pretty nicely in this shot. What a beautiful sunset, even though it’s behind the camera in this photo. It won’t be long until this landscape is blanketed in white – hopefully.

Shakedown cruise(s) complete, I’m ready to start exploring some of the new features of the addition to my drone fleet!

The Randolph Twins

When it comes to finding points of photographic interest around North Dakota, I’ve got plenty of resources. I have maps. I have lists. I have online resources. I keep an eye out for interesting things posted by others, especially locals in certain places. The Randolph School showed up on one of my maps, so I followed my usual ritual: finding its precise GPS location; pixel-peeping it on The Google; determining if it’s still where it should be; determining if there’s still a road to it (especially in the Prairie Pothole areas); and plotting my way to visit it for myself. When I arrived at the location of the Randolph School, however, I was surprised to see that there were two of them.

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Low tech, high tech weekend…somewhere

I spotted this barn while out roaming around a long time ago, and I came across this photo recently while going through old photos. I don’t remember posting this one, so I thought I’d share. I wonder if there was a time where this barn suddenly gave out a gasp and settled into this position?

With structures like this, I find it interesting to stop by again after a while and see how the ravages of time have progressed. Unfortunately, in this case, I don’t know if that’ll be possible…

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School’s out…forever

I hope you read that title in Alice Cooper’s voice. I was going through some photos from 2022 recently, looking for a selfie I took in a Blackhawk helicopter, when I came across this one. I don’t believe I’d posted it before! By the way, this was an iPhone photo…not something I typically do on this blog. But the cameras in those things are getting so darn good – especially on my 15 Pro.

I actually came across the GPS waypoint for this little school, nestled in the far northwestern corner of our state, a day or two ago while looking for something else as well. I guess it was destined to get my attention!

I remember the moment I took this photo. First, it was drizzling. Second, I was near the intersection of the borders with both Montana and Canada. In fact, I believe my phone was roaming just like I was! I got one of those “you’re now in Canada” roaming messages on it. And third, it was a fantastic find. I even noted that in my map when I marked the waypoint for it. I’m glad I had the chance to post it!

One of my favorite Fallen Farms

I spotted this gem of a barn on the way back from a speech competition in northwestern North Dakota. My boy had performed quite well, so it was a Proud Dad moment. My eyes are always scanning while driving, a trait which has kept me alive through many years of motorcycling and motorcycle racing, and naturally that translates well to my photography hobby. Well, an inattentive eye would have missed this scene. Thankfully, being alert paid off: I pulled over, grabbed my gear from the trunk, bolted to the best vantage point, and got the shot.